Not All it Seems
by CodeNameBLOOD
Summary: Ari is a young woman who is visiting her family in Burgess for the holidays. She, like many teenagers her age, don't believe in anything that is considered fantasy or magical. That disbelief changes when she is rattled up at something she sees, which is enough to make her question the world around her. And what is up with the person in the black cloak? (Possible M later!)
1. NOTE!

Hey guys! I've decided to take a crack at ROTG now, but those of you that are current fans don't worry, my other stories aren't forgotten...fully anyways. My laptop broke, so for the longest time i was using my tablet, and i decided to write on Word and somehow began to think of a plot for this story.

Hopefully I still got it in me to make this fic decent enough for someone to like it. XD I'm enjoying writing it so far. Anyways just to let you know, this story will possibly have some sexual moments, maybe even some sexy scenes. It'll have action and suspense along with other random things.\

So those of you that are too young to read sexual stuff, turn back now. You have been warned. Also I won't move the rating up until it gets to that point where it does start to get mature.

Enough with my rambling! Please enjoy!

-CodeNameBLOOD


	2. Chapter 1

Ari was not at all pleased with her situation, in fact if it weren't for the fact she was with her parents right now, she would be losing her shit.

The annoying music her father decided to play was seeping into her ears like a poison. She was about ready to shoot herself. Don't get her wrong, she LOVED Christmas, but she HATED the holiday music with a fiery passion. Now in the beginning she would be okay with the newer songs that came out. It was only when she began to hear those fucking songs over and over, day after day she began to get sick of it. There was no escape from Christmas music for her during this time of year. Even her own room wasn't safe.

Despite her efforts to drown out the music with her, as her father jokingly called it, Satanic screaming music, the cursed holiday music still wouldn't allow her to ignore it. She gritted her teeth, she still had 5 hours worth of this bullshit. She had been cooped up in the family car with her parents for a full day, this wasn't even counting the day's worth of driving they did yesterday.

She was 1000000% fucking done.

But being the respectful and semi patient child she was, she chose to deal with it. That was only because her mother was very content and happy listening to Christmas music as she rubbed her swollen abdomen while holding her father's hand.

The last thing she needed was her pregnant and very hormonal mother upset about her Christmas music being taken away. It was bad enough having to console her when she started to cry about spilling her milkshake.

Witnessing her mother's pregnancy made her lean even more to not wanting kids.

It seemed like a nightmare.

"Zack, when will we make it to Burgess?" Her mother gently asked.

"We still have 5 hours sweet-heart." He smiled. They held each other's hand like they were love struck teenagers. It was sweet and heart warming really.

"Tammy will be waiting for us, won't she?" Ari decided to speak up.

They were on their way to Burgess Pennsylvania to sped Christmas with her Aunt Tammy, Cousin Gina AKA Cupcake, and her grandparents. Since her family lived a few states away, it was going to take 2 days to reach the town.

"Yes, most likely. She's always been a night owl, so even though we'll be getting there about 10, she'll no doubt be awake." Her father explained as he brushed his blonde hair from his face. He looked tired, his green eyes were a bit dull and he had slight bags forming.

"You know if you're too tired you can pull over and let me drive dad?" Aris spoke with a concerned tone.

"It's fine my little firecracker, I've driven longer and further than this before. I'm just bored." He grinned while looking at me through the rear view mirror.

Ari didn't look convinced but let it pass.

It was 5 in the evening and the park was active with the laughs and screams of several children. Each child was either holding a snow ball or throwing one, giant smiles on their faces. Among the small group of children was a teenage boy. His hair was light as the snow with pale skin, his eyes were a striking blue that were alive with mischief and amusement. He held a curved wooden staff with frost on its surface in one hand while the other hand was stuffed in his froze covered blue hoodie. He was watching the kids play while leaning against a tree, his bare feet practically buried in the snow.

"No fair Jamie!" A girl squealed when she was pelted with a giant snowball.

This made the teenager laugh.

"Are you playing dirty Jamie?" He mused causing a brown haired boy to look his way and give him a cheeky grin.

"No!" He denied, but the look on the boy's face said otherwise.

The teenager pushed off from the tree and snatch up a snowball.

"I guess that means I gotta even the score." The silver haired boy grinned broadly.

Before he could throw it, something smacked into his head. A fit of giggling was heard as he slowly turned around to see a young yet tall and lean girl clutching her belly as she laughed.

"So we have two dirty players among us." The teenager mused as his eyes flicked between Jamie and the girl.

"Nice shot Cupcake! She got you good Jack!" The boy named Monty cheered, giving her a high-five.

The teenager, Jack, grabbed another snowball.

"You guys better start running." He smirked as the children gave him mock scared looks and began to run.

An hour later, 6 children were sprawled out in the snow, tired from their play. So rather than having another snowball fight, they all began to share what they were doing for the holidays with the winter spirit, Jack. One by one they excitedly spoke, often times speaking over one another as Jack listened to them. Finally they all finished, leaving only one child.

"So what are you doing Cupcake?" Jack questioned the the girl.

She sat up, a bright grin on her usually gruff face.

"My cousin firecracker and her parents are coming down for Christmas!" She practically exclaimed.

He raised a brow at the name.

"Firecracker?" The children chorused

She giggled.

"It's her nickname, wanna know how she got it?"

They all nodded.

"Ari is her real name, but she gets called firecracker because one day in the summer she bought a big bag of supplies because she was going to make her own roaming candle. Well when the roaming candle was finished she lit it outside, only for it to...blow up in her face." She began to laugh.

"Instead of lighting it just blew black dust all over the place, her face was covered!" She exclaimed as the children laughed with her, but mainly because her laughter was contagious.

Jack chuckled.

"She sounds like a fun person, I'll have to meet her some time." He grinned, and Cupcake nodded excitedly.

"She'll be in tonight, I'll bring her here tomorrow!"

Jack smiled at the girl's excitement, it was rare that the girl got this excited over anything.

"Yeah! I can't wait to meet her! Wait, wouldn't it be so cool Jack if she could see you?!" Caleb exclaimed.

Jack grinned and nodded before turning to Cupcake

"How old is she?" He questioned.

She put on a face of thought.

"Um, 17 or 18 I think?" She mumbled.

Jack slumped along with the other kids.

"She's too old, there's no way she'll believe in me." He sighed.

Cupcake grumbled.

"We'll see about that"


	3. Chapter 2

It was 10:40 p.m. when Ari and her family got to her aunt's house. While her parents were tired, she was full of energy. So after she greeted her aunt and cousin with happy hugs, she told her parents she were going for a walk.

"Be sure to bundle up firecracker." Her mom said kissing her head as she nodded.

"Gosh your hair is so beautiful." She cooed in awe as she played with her daughter's red/orange hair, which was a bit on the wild side.

Ari chuckled.

"Of course you would think that, my hair looks just like yours." She mused.

Her mom chuckled.

"Details." She waved of.

Ari rolled her eyes and kissed her mom in the cheek and went out the door. She stopped to take in a deep breath and stretch.

"Finally out of that stupid car." She mumbled while looking around.

Snow was everywhere, and the sight brought a grin to her face as she began to walk to the park. Hoping that she fully remembered the direction. She kicked up snow as she walked, whistling a random tune, before busting out in loud song, her voice in between sounding okay and horrible. She snickered when she stopped singing and shivered when a breeze hit her.

"I like this place and all but I wouldn't want to live here, roads suck and the weather is usually cold. That's not good for motorcycle riding." She muttered as she plopped down into the biggest rift of snow at the park. She laughed as she sunk down about 2 feet before shooting up.

"I could make a snowman!" She exclaimed as if she were the first ever to come up with the idea.

She stumbled to her feet and began the process as she hummed. This was the side of her that no one seen of the usually quiet yet sarcastic ball of sass that she was.

She spent a good hour creating the snowman, fully enjoying herself and the cold. When she finished she took a step back to admire her work.

"Not bad." She mused before shivering as it got colder.

* * *

Jack was making his rounds around the town, bringing in more snow and cold to burgess. Once he finished he paused to watch Sandy at work. He grinned as he watched the trails of dream sand weave through the air. He rested his cheek against his staff as he watched. Finally he moved on, passing Jamie's house as he went towards the park.

"What?" He muttered as he eyes landed on a girl, a teenage girl that is.

He moved in closer and landed on a tree branch, trying to figure out what she was doing and why. She was laying in the snow, her limbs spread out as she stared at the sky in what he assumed to be thought.

She suddenly shot up, her red hair whipping around as her glasses fell lower on her nose.

"I could make a snowman!" She exclaimed.

By now Jack was watching the girl with amused interest.. She seemed to be enjoying herself as she began the building process on the snowman.. Her red hair was tangled and wild and it was hilarious watching her fight the unruly tangles as she attempted to make the perfect snowman.

He eyed her, watching as she moved around. Something clenched in his chest as she began to laugh when she tripped and face planted in the snow. He hadn't realized it but he was laughing with her. It didn't take long for her to finish her snowman, but when she did, she took a step back to look at her work, Jack glided over beside her and looked the snowman over.

"This is the worst snowman I've ever seen." He laughed.

The snow was packed uneven, the limbs she found were all uneven so the arms were weird looking. The eyes were made from rocks, very weird shaped rocks. It had no nose, and the mouth was just an angled stick.

"Why don't I just put this thing out of its misery." He snickered and hit it with his staff, knocking it over.

"No!" She screeched as she fell to her knees.

"He was so young!" She cried as she clutched her head. She quickly stood up with a snort, composing herself so quickly he almost got whiplash.

"It was a shitty snowman anyways." She drawled as she smacked the hair away from her face.

"I'm going to cut it! I swear to god!" She shouted.

Jack laughed and hit the tree she stood under, instantly snow fell over her, getting a loud yelp. She popped up, reminding him of when Bunny would emerge from one of his holes. She shook her head, knocking off the snow that was on her head.

"Yeah well fuck you too." She huffed

Jack laughed, nearly doubling over.

"You have to be the most entertaining teenager I've met." He mused as he circled her as she cleaned the snow off herself.

"Ari!" A familiar voice called. Cupcake was running her way with wide eyes, and instantly the silly girl went serious.

Jack frowned, wondering what had Cupcake so riled up. He walked over to stand near the girl as Cupcake came to a stop.

"What's wrong?" The girl questioned.

She was panting. The cold making her breath form fog.

"Y-your mom...she's going to have the baby." She panted.

The girl, he now knew was the cousin Cupcake was talking a about, gasped. Her eyes were wide as saucers.

"They're on their way to the hospital now, it's just down the road a little ways, I think." Cupcake panted out, but before the girl could even properly finish, Ari was barreling her way towards the hospital.

Cupcake looked up and spotted Jack.

"Can you please follow her? Make sure she finds her way." She pleaded and he nodded and took off after the girl.

She wasn't even half way before Ari slipped and almost fell, luckily for her, he kept her from falling.

"Don't fall and bust your ass. That would suck if you had to be checked into the hospital for a broken ass while your mom is giving birth." He snorted.

She slipped again.

Looks like it was a good thing he followed.


	4. Chapter 3

Ari busted through the doors of the hospital, after almost busting her ass a total of 10 times she had made it. She ran to the front desk.

"My mother should be here, her name is Kylie Benson, what room is she in?" She questioned surprisingly calm.

The nurse looked over the paperwork.

"Second floor room number 140." She stated in a polite professional manner.

Ari didn't waste any time and ran for the elevator, she pressed the up button and waited, and once the door opened she scrambled inside and pressed the button for the second floor. She leaned against the elevator wall panting heavily. Her lungs burning from the cold air she breathed in while running. For some reason the elevator was cold, causing her to shiver and rub her hands together. When the door finally opened she sped walked out and began looking for her mothers room. Spotting her father waiting outside a door, she ran up to him.

"How is she?" She questioned as he looked over at her.

"She's fine, she's in labour. I'm going inside now, you can stay out here or follow me." He smiled as he ruffled her already unruly hair.

"I'll wait out here." She decided as she sat down in a nearby chair.

Her father disappeared into the room, once the door shut she sighed in exhaustion.

"Holy cow." She muttered.

"My lungs are on ice right now." She grumbled lightly hitting her chest.

She rubbed her eyes after pulling her glasses off. She yawned and looked around then down at her feet. Soon she started to doze off before jolting as she heard her mothers cries. She shuttered.

"Never having kids, I'll adopt." She muttered, worry shooting through her.

She began to doze off again, her head falling from time to time, till finally she succumbed to sleep.

* * *

Jack watched the girl as she slept, he smiled at her as he propped himself against the wall and rested his cheek on his staff.

"Shes rather pretty." He mumbled as he stomped the urge to try and touch her, not that he could anyways.

Jack had never really paid much attention to teenagers, so it was a bit strange for him being near one. He figured why waste his time on teenagers. They, like adults, didn't believe in him, so he never bothered. It seems that's changed now. His full attention was on this girl. He really couldn't stop staring at her, taking in all the details of her face. He ignored the noise around him as he fell into his own little world.

Jack sat beside Ari for a while, losing track of time as he started to rambled to her about things that he couldn't to the children. It wasn't like she could hear him, but ranting and rambling at her made him feel a whole lot better. He casted a sideways glance at her then grinned, it was kind of nice to be near and talk at someone close to his maturity level. All he had to talk to was the kids who were too young to talk to about serious stuff to, and the guardian who treated him like a kid.

Thinking about it now, he deeply craved to have someone that would understand his struggles and give him advice without worry of being seen as childish.

"Firecracker, I'm going to make you believe." He grinned as he stood up, only to turn his attention to the door.

Her father walked out with a small smile, and Jack took that as his cue to leave.

"See ya soon." He muttered as he walked down the hall.

He was determined to have that girl believe.

* * *

Ari was gently shaken from her sleep by her grinning father.

"Are you ready to meet your baby brother?" He questioned

Instantly she grinned and stood up. She nodded quickly and eagerly and her father smiled and took her hand and led her into the room. Upon walking in, Ari's eyes were instantly glued to the bundle in her exhausted mother's arms.

Her mother looks over and smiled tiredly as she gestured her closer. Eagerly she walked forward, and when offered, held the child in her arms. He was sleeping, which made her smile, her heart felt warm and fuzzy as she stared at her baby brother.

"His name is Eli James Benson. He weighs 6 pounds and 3 ounces." Her mother said proudly

Ali rocked him gently in her arms as she handed Eli over to her father.

"I'm going back to tell Tammy and Cupcake the news." Ali announced after visiting with her parents for several minutes.

They nodded as she went and kissed her mom on the forehead, then hugged her father, and finally kissed her brother gently.

"Goodnight." She gently said as she left the room, shutting the door behind her gently. She smiled to herself. She was a big sister now, and that in itself was exciting. She couldn't wait to see him again.

She turned towards where the elevator was and began to walk until stopping when she heard a strange sound. She frowned and turned around, looking down the empty hallway. One light flickered above a room, she noted the door was open, and because she was a curious girl, she walked closer.

She seen something black slide along the floor as it went into the room, it looked like shredded fabric. Her heart hammered in her chest as she inched closer to the room, and the closer she got the more she began to feel….strange.

Once at the doorway, she paused, something felt off, she could feel it. Something warned her not to look, but at the same time something told her to continue. Gulping she slowly peeked into the room, the sound of a heart monitor reaching her ears along with an oxygen machine.

She froze at what she saw, her heart dropped and she bit down a scream.

A figure in a long black cloak stood over an elderly man in a hospital bed. The figure had their back to her, but she could see wisps of black evaporating off the cloak like smoke. Something gleamed in her eyes and then she seen a glimpse of a scythe.

The figure turned to her, and she was face to face with a skull. She went pale, her blood running cold. The figure that she could only think to know as Death itself brought an index finger to its teeth where lips were supposed to be and made a 'shh' sound and then gestured her in slowly and pointed to the door. She weakly nodded and in a zombie like manner stepped in and shut the door. She couldn't see the old mans face, but she knew he was awake by his intake of air.

"It's my time isn't it?" He croaked out.

Death nodded mutely.

"Better late than never I suppose. Take me home." The man laughed weakly.

Ari watched as Death raised his scythe and she couldn't watch any longer. She quickly scrambled out and ran down the hall like a bat out of hell. She couldn't remember leaving the hospital, all she remembered was the feeling of her legs burning and her head throbbing. She soon found herself at the park and collapsed to her knees. She felt hysterical, she wanted to cry.

She seen Death! Oh God, did that mean she was going to die?! She trembled from the cold and from fear. She the tensed as she felt a sense of foreboding hit her, she sensed him before she knew he was actually there.

'Be at ease girl, it is not your time.' A beautifully haunting masculine voice stated.

She slowly turned to see Death standing over her, her eyes widened to saucers. Her heart was in her stomach. Dare she say she was close to fainting?

"W-who are you?" Was the only thing she managed out.

She knew who he was, but it was the only thing she could think to say.

'I am the Grim Reaper, also known as the angel of death or just Death.' He explained.

Why was he here? He said it wasn't her time, so why was he even standing there. Better yet how could she see him?

She slowly eased up to stand.

"If I'm not going to die, then why can I see you?" She questioned with a nervous waver.

She could feel his stare on her, and it gave her cold chills.

'You believe.' He stated, she hadn't noticed before, but he was speaking through her mind. That terrified her even more.

"What do you mean believe?" She bravely spoke up.

He inclined his head down at her, he still towered over her by a few feet.

'I mean just that.' He replied mysteriously as he turned away.

She watched him begin to move away.

"W-wait!" She called.

He stopped, but did not look back.

"Will I see you again? Without me or anyone else I know dying that is?" She questioned, itching to know more about this being despite being scared shitless.

'Perhaps. Now return to your house Ari Benson. The night isn't safe for the young.' His voice was still hauntingly beautiful but at the same time she noticed it was void of emotion.

He began to walk again. She watched as he faded into the darkness, leaving black smoke wisps in his wake before they too disappeared. She let out a shaky breath and began to walk home, her brain on autopilot. She didn't remember the rest of that night, it felt like a dream.

Did all of that really just happen?


	5. Chapter 4

Ari woke early in the morning, it was hard for her to sleep, but when she finally did drift off she began to have some pretty trippy dreams. She yawned and stretched, she wasn't in a hurry to go downstairs, it wasn't like her parents were back yet. They probably won't be back till lunch anyhow.

She swung her legs over the side of the bed, her feet resting on the plush carpet. She ignored how bright the room was and how covered in pink it was. She felt the bed shift and she looked over to see Cupcake's back facing her. She gave a soft smile before standing to observe how she looked in the mirror. Her red her was a tangled mess, her eyes had slight bags under them, no doubt from her sleepless night.

She eyed her body, poking at her belly and sides. She was a bit curvy, her hips and thighs were a little heavy on the fat deposits, along with her arms and stomach. Her torso wasn't big like her thighs and hips, it was actually kinda small. So she'd have to guess she had the pear body type. She wasn't self conscious though, she knew whatever she couldn't have in body she'd make up I personality.

Besides, she took after her mom, and while they may be above average weight slightly. They were, well at least her mom, pretty. Scratch that, her mom was beautiful, she didn't have that much confidence to say she was beautiful, just pretty on her good days.

She ran her fingers through her hair then sighed when they got tangled. She rolled her eyes and grabbed a brush and ran it through her hair. After brushing her hair she went to her bag to find some clothes to wear. She tossed her Harley jacket aside and grabbed a pair of pants and a random shirt. Looking them over a second she pulled them on after taking off her night clothes.

Brushing the cat hair from her shirt she grumbled.

"Not even my clothes 1000 miles away from home are safe." She huffed, starting to miss her cat now.

She grabbed her jacket and pulled it on along with a beanie to cover her ears. She wiggled her toes, realizing she forgot to put on her socks and shoes. She groaned and began to put those on as well. When she finally finished she stood and left the room. She carefully went down the stairs, she paused to look at her phone, which she had oh so smartly forgotten to grab last night.

"6:30, wow this is the earliest I've ever woken up." She mumbled.

She listened for any movement, when she didn't hear anything she figured everyone was asleep. She'd have to be quiet, she didn't want to wake anyone unnecessarily. After writing a note to her aunt and possibly her parents, she left the house to go on a walk, stuffing her hands in her jacket. She felt a lump in her jacket and reached inside, only to find a pair of gloves.

"Huh, I was wondering where they were when I was putting all my gear away. Oh well, I got something to keep my hands warm." She muttered as she walked to the park again.

She looked around, her eyes landing on a pond.

"Tempting, but I'd rather not see Death that way." She mumbled as she found somewhere to sit that wasn't covered in snow and frost.

She let out a loud sigh and groaned.

"Why me?! Of all the things I could have seen it was THAT! Why not Sasquatch?!" She grumbled staring up at the sky, snow starting to fall.

"I wonder if I'll see him again, even if he is scary as hell." She mused sitting up.

She always was interested in how the afterlife sorta worked. Her parents were sort of religious but she herself was on the fence. She was mostly agnostic, she didn't completely rule out anything. So asking Death himself could help her understand. How many people could say they talked with Death and not die?

She had a grin on her face.

"Well at least the world isn't as boring as I thought." She mused as she stood up and left the park.

She was itching to draw, and she didn't bring anything to draw in other than her tablet, and she really didn't want to go back and get that. So she decided to go to the store and get herself a notebook, pen, and pencils.

She walked along the sidewalk, mindful of the ice. At least this time she was smart enough to wear the shoes with grip on them.

Knock on wood because at that moment she slipped on ice. Her arms slung up, her legs kicked out from under her as she began to fall. She didn't even have time to yelp, she just silently kissed her ass goodbye. This was going to hurt.

She gasped as a very cold breeze hit her back, she felt wind push her up right as he feet found themselves back on the ground. She blinked quickly as she looked around.

"What the fuck?" She muttered looking around.

Did Death do that?

"This town is so weird." She groaned as she adjusted her glasses.

"I wish the wind was as helpful at home as it is here. The wind at home is brutal when I'm on the bike." She huffed as she began walking again, deciding to stay off the sidewalk.

She was extra careful when walking now, she sighed in relief as she walked into the store. She walked down the isles grabbing whatever she needed,and when she was done she checked out. She walked out of the store and carefully walked back to the park to her spot. She shivered.

"I feel like I'm being followed." She muttered before looking up only to see a group of teenage boys,they went around her as she discreetly eyed the one in the middle. Once they were a good distance away she whistled.

"Hot damn that guy was sexy." She said approvingly.

"If I was more confident I would lay out pick up lines. I have so many stored away." She mused

She snickered to herself as she sat back on her spot in the park and began to draw, humming to herself in a happy mood.


	6. Chapter 5

When Jack found the girl by chance. She was mumbling and groaning to herself in an exasperated manner.

"Why me?! Of all the things I could have seen it was THAT! Why not Sasquatch?!" She groaned as she stared up at the sky. He raised a brow.

"What does Sasquatch have to do with anything?" He muttered furrowing his eyebrows

He watched her grin and mutter to herself about how the world wasn't as boring as she thought. He was confused and very curious. He circled her as different expressions went across her face, she was probably in deep thought.

She was amusingly odd.

She then stood up and began to walk, he followed her with interest. He still had a bit till he had to leave Burgess to spread winter around. So why not spend his time basically stalking an oblivious teenage girl.

He began to guess when she'd slip and fall. She tended to drift in thought, so it was obvious at some point she would slip on the ice, even if she were making careful steps.

"There she goes." He snorted just as she took the wrong step.

"Wind. Do you mind?" He grinned.

As she was in motion of falling, a strong wind gust hit her, putting her up right before she even neared the concrete.

She looked shocked and confused when she got her footing.

"What the fuck?" He heard her mutter.

He gave a bow.

"Your welcome." He mused as she looked around, as if looking for someone. He suddenly got hopeful, he couldn't help the way his heart leapt in excitement.

Would she see him?

She looked in his direction, but she didn't see him. He hated how much it hurt to know she didn't believe. He didn't know her, yet here he was, desperate for her to see him.

Don't get him wrong, this wasn't him having a crush, but he just felt if he had a shot of getting someone his 'age' to believe in him, it was her. He just had this feeling, something he guess he could say matched North's gut feelings.

He watched as Ari adjusted her black rimmed glasses.

"This town is so weird." She groaned.

He quirked a grin.

"You have no idea firecracker." He laughed as he leaned against his staff.

"I wish the wind was as helpful at home as it is here. The wind at home is brutal when I'm on the bike." She huffed as she began walking again, deciding to stay off the sidewalk.

"Bike? As in bicycle or motorcycle?" He questioned then eyed her jacket.

"A motorcycle rider, that's pretty sweet." He grinned, that was pretty impressive.

He followed her into the supply store, and watched her grab a notebook, some pens, and some pencils. Did she draw or write? That was the only thing he could think of as to why she was buying that stuff.

He looked around the store and decided to be mischievous. He picked a random victim, a man in his late twenties, he froze he shoes to the floor with a laugh, causing the man to yelp as he tried to get free. Noticing Ari was leaving the store, he quickly followed her as she looked at the ground. For once paying attention and being careful.

The weather of course was cold, thanks to him, snow was on the ground. It wasn't too much snow, but just enough to get kids out for snow days. By now more people were out, he could only guess it were around 8, but he wasn't sure.

Focusing his attention back of Ari, he took notice in the expression on her face. He didn't think she knew it, but she had the slightest onset of a goofy smirk forming. Following her line of sight, he saw a group of boys around her age, her eyes were on the one in the middle. He had long-ish blonde hair, brown eyes, but he had this dark and brooding sort of thing about him. He was laughing with his friends, and while Ari didn't notice, his eyes flicked over to her briefly before he elbowed his friend once they passed her. He turned his attention away from them when they were further away, just in time to hear a whistle escape Ari.

"Hot damn that guy was sexy." She had an approving tone

He snorted in amusement.

"Just wait till you see me sweetheart, you don't even know sexy until you've seen me." He stated cockily.

"If I was more confident I would lay out pick up lines. I have so many stored away." She mused, catching his attention.

"Oh? That would be something I'd love to hear." He laughed, finding the idea of her throwing a pick up line his way deeply amusing. She seemed like she'd wither away in embarrassment if she managed to choke one out.

He followed her the rest of the way back to the park. Watching people who passed by and avoiding being walked through. He hated the feeling of someone walking through him. It didn't hurt, too bad anyways, but it brought this awful feeling of dread and helplessness that made him want to wither away in the nearest hole.

He jumped up onto the tree branch above Ari as she began to sketch something out on the notebook. He laid out on his stomach and watched her, twirling his staff around silently as he tried to figure out what she was drawing. She started out sketching out several circles and different shaped then began to go over them. He had absolutely no clue what was going on or what she was drawing. He spent several minutes trying to figure it out till finally he could make out a skull.

"Aha! Wow that's so cool! How did you make that with all that?" He said with an excited and baffled voice

Slowly and surely he began to realize she was drawing the grim reaper, at least that's what he thought. No one has ever seen the mysterious being, some say he works in a completely different realm from what he, the guardians , and other spirits did. Some even say he's older than the moon himself. No one knows for sure though.

Ari finished the sketching and switched to a pen and began to make the drawing more detailed and eye catching. The drawing was intimidating and very well done despite the messy sketches in pencil. The pen lines were neat and done with care, and she got the skull down very well, without even needing to look at anything.

"That's so cool." He grinned when she finished. She had erased all of the pencil marks and signed her name on it.

He watched her look it over critically before shrugging.

"It really doesn't do him justice, I wonder what he'll think of it?" She mused.

That definitely caught his attention.

"What?" He questioned with furrowed eyebrows as he sat up and jumped down in front of her.

"Could you repeat that?" He pressed, but as expected, she didn't hear.

She put her book away and stood up, and before he could react, she walked through him. He gasped, the air was knocked from him, he clutched his chest as he staggered. He heard a gasp as well, and slowly turned her way. She was holding her chest as she looked around in alarm.

"Thanks for walking through me, that felt really swell." He spat out sarcastically. He always got a bit irritable when walked through.

"Who said that?" She called and his eyes widened.

"Can you hear me?" He questioned, not sure if he could hear right.

"Where are you?" She questioned looking his way.

She could hear him!


	7. Chapter 6

Ari was feeling a bit creeped out now. After feeling that awful feeling of helplessness and unpleasant buzzing she began to hear a voice. Male from what she could tell and possibly close to her age.

"Dude, where the hell are you?" She huffed rubbing her chest.

There was overjoyed laughing.

"You can hear me!" He exclaimed.

"Stating the obvious are we? But seriously, where the fuck are you?" She stated with serious sass.

He chuckled.

"I'm in front of you." He said.

There was a long moment of silence.

"Are you joshing me?" She droned.

"What? Joshing? Oh! No, I'm not tricking you." The voice chuckled.

She yawned and crossed her arms.

"Then why can't I see you?" She said unconvinced.

"Because you don't believe in me." He stated as if it where obvious.

There it was again, the word believe. What the hell do they mean by believe?

"What the heck is that supposed to mean?" She questioned.

He sighed.

"In order for humans to see beings like me, they must believe in us. Generally only children can see beings like myself, well only a few believe in me but that's beside the point." He Drawled.

"Anyways, I'm Jack Frost, and in order for you to see me you have to believe in my existence." He explained.

She thought this over, trying to decide whether or not this boy was full of shit and tricking her,nor if he really was telling the truth. After seeing The Grim Reaper it wasn't exactly crazy.

"Prove to me I'm not being tricked 'Jack Frost.' Because right now I'm leaning more towards you're full of crap." She snorted as she heard a scoff.

"Remember when you almost busted your ass about 15 times when you were on your way to the hospital? That was me. When you almost fell earlier, who do you think saved you from breaking your ass? Me, that's who." He stated with a bit of sass in his tone.

Slowly she turned over his words within her brain, thinking it over and trying to find the error in what he said to prove him wrong. She realize there wasn't any thing to prove he was tricking her, and the closer she got to believing this supposed Jack Frost, the more she began to see a blurry figure in front of her. Her eyes widened as she began to make out a boy about her age standing in front of her. He had white messy hair, beautiful bright blue eyes, pale skin. He wore a dark blue hoodie with frost on the shoulders and sleeves, leather brown pants that were binded at his calves, and he wore no shoes.

Over all he was fucking gorgeous.

He was staring at her expectantly as he clutched onto a frost covered wooden staff. She reached out and poked his face, his skin was cool, but not freezing. His eyes widened as the brightest and happiest smile she's ever seen in her life formed on his face.

He's so precious!

"You touch me! Does that mean you can see me?!" He gushed excitedly.

She gave him a grin and nodded. He began to laugh in happiness and before she could react he gathered her up in a bone crushing hug, lifting her off the ground as he twirled her around laughing.

Damn, apparently he's strong too. She isn't exactly light, in fact far from it.

She grunt as he put her on the ground with a sheepish look while scratching his head.

"Sorry, I got carried away." He murmured.

She shrugged.

"It's fine." She drawled.

It's not everyday she gets a hug from a really attractive guy.

"So why the excitement?" She questioned curiously

"Until just recently no human has been able to see me. As of right now only 6 kids, Cupcake included, can see me. That's not counting you." He was looking at her with the happiest smile on his face as he spoke.

She thought that over. Until just recently? So did that mean that he hasn't been able to talk to anyone?

"How long have you not been believed in?" She questioned.

"Three hundred years." He answered.

Her eyes widened.

"Did you have anyone to talk to?" She questioned,

He shook his head, a distant look in his eyes.

"No, not really. Other spirits always saw me as a troublemaker and turned their nose up at me when I tried to start a friendly conversation. But just last year I was made into a guardian by the mood, so now I have Santa, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth fairy, and the sandman to talk to along with the kids. You're the first person I've ever spoke to that is close to my maturity level and physical age." He rambled before pausing when he notice her confused look.

"Sit down and I'll tell you the full story." He finally said, eagerness in his tone.

She nodded and sat in the snow, he sat in front of her and told her his story from the beginning. She listened to his every word, drinking in the information he gave her. Feeling amazement and excitement as she learned about things she originally never thought existed. She felt like a child again, her old beliefs coming back to her, beliefs she had turned away from when she began to hit her early preteens.

Jack had a voice that drew her in, even after an hour of him speaking she still wasn't bored, and the cold snow that was melting into her pants was being ignored in favor of listening. Her ass was numb, but she couldn't find it in herself to make Jack stop for a short bit so she could move.

He told her about the man in the moon, his adventure with North, Bunny, Tooth, Sandy, and the kids. He told her about his past as a human before he became the winter spirit, he shard pretty much everything with her. Spilling himself to her even though they hardly knew each other. She understood why he was though, all of that loneliness he's faced, being ignored, the desire and need to talk, she was amazed he hadn't gone insane. After all that kind of isolation fucks with the brain.

"Wow, that is…..fucking sweet" Was all she could think to say when he finished.

He laughed at her amazed expression and tone.

"So what about the Angel of Death?" She questioned.

He tilted his head.

"Does he exist? No one knows, no one, not even the guardians. Why?" He questioned.

She was about to answer till movement caught her eye. She looked over only to see Death holding a finger to his mouth. Jack looked in the direction she was looking at.

"What's the matter?" He questioned, and it was then she realized, Jack couldn't see Death.

She shook her head.

"Just a squirrel. Anyways I was just wondering, I've always had a…..fascination with Death." She said as she force herself to look away from the imposing figure of Death.

How come only she could see him?

He nodded a grin never leaving his face.

"So…You ride motorcycle?" He grinned.

Instantly she perked up, a grin coming to her face.

"Yep." She popped the P.

She watched as he gave her a curious look, his blue eyes slightly entrancing.

"What made you want to ride motorcycle?" He questioned.

She shrugged.

"My mom and dad ride, I always rode with them, so when I got old enough I wanted my license and my own bike. And after getting a job I bought myself a bike just off the show room floor." She couldn't help but brag a bit, she loved her bike.

"What kind of bike?" He asked.

"A hard candy cancun blue sportster 1200 Harley Davidson." She spoke from memory and heart.

He whistled.

"A Harley huh? I don't know much about bikes, but I know Harley's are pretty popular here in the states." He grinned.

"You'll have to show me sometime." He smiled as he stood up, offering her a hand.

She took it and he pulled her to her feet.

She rubbed her bum.

"My ass is numb." She muttered causing him to laugh.

"Sorry about that, I didn't think it would take that long." He said apologetically.

"That's okay, I liked listening. Plus it sounds like you need someone to talk to." She grinned

He leaned on his staff as he snorted.

"You have no idea. Don't get me wrong I love the heck out of the kids, but they're kids, they won't understand. And the other guardians treat me like a child, always ordering me around and waving me off." He grumbled.

She patted his back.

"Well, I'm always willing to lend an ear. So if something is bothering you I don't mind listening." She gently mused.

He looked surprised and brightened up.

"Really?"

She nodded.

"Really."

At that moment her phone began to ring, she gave him an apologetic look.

"I guess this is when we part ways, see you around?" She questioned.

He gave her a thumbs up. She felt excited at meeting up with him again. Not only has she met Death, she's met Jack Frost, and no other teenager could say they have.

"Duh." He grinned causing her to grin as well.

She waved to him.

"See you later then." She reluctantly said as she began to walk away.

"See you firecracker!" He called causing her to huff at the name, getting a laugh from him.

She'd have to ring a certain girl's neck for telling the winter spirit about her nickname.

Jack's heads were in the clouds, he was beyond ecstatic. She believed in him! She could SEE and SPEAK to him! She even touched him! His skin was buzzing pleasantly as he thought of the hug. It felt beyond wonderful to hug her, it felt even better to have her listen to him and understand where he was coming from.

He let wind carry him into the air.

"This is the happiest I've ever been." He sighed happily.

He couldn't wait to see her again and talk to her more. She seemed to be a ball of sass and sarcasm, it would be funny if he could get her riled up enough to show more of it.

He had to tell North!

"Wind, take me to the Northpole!" He shouted gleefully, not even noticing the shadowy figure following Ari.

North was busy at work, Christmas was 20 days away, and he still had to make enough toys for 2 million children. He had no time to play around.

"North! Guess what?!" Jack exploded from nowhere.

The Russian man looked up.

"Ahh! Jack! Good to see you boy! What can I do for you?" He merrily barked.

"I have another believer!" He stated excitedly.

The man gave a nod, already getting distracted.

"That is good, is there anything else?" He questioned.

Jack felt a bit discouraged at the man's lack of full attention.

"She's my age, well she's a teenager." He grinned, shaking of his discouragement.

"That's nice." He mused, not even hearing what he said.

Jack frowned.

"I froze the ocean." He deadpanned.

"That's great Jack, good to hear." North said while giving orders to the Yetis.

Jack gave him a blank look.

"I experienced the power of weed and my now found love for it, I even shared my experience with Jamie." Jack said with a simmering tone.

"Uh-huh. That's nice." He mumbled.

Jack slumped and clutched his staff tightly.

"I'm leaving." He growled and stormed off, not waiting for a reply.

"I'm listening." The man said not even noticing his absence.

Phil spoke to him while making gestures.

"Wait, what do you mean he's gone? He's right he-" North fell silent when he seen the vacant spot where Jack was once standing.

"Huh." He said in puzzlement.

Jack had tried to speak with Tooth, and of course busy. He didn't even try Bunny, and Sandy was falling asleep as he spoke. Finally he just gave up and went home, feeling a bit upset.

"I guess my novelty as the new guardian wore off, so now their too busy to even spare me a few minutes." He spat out as he found a place to hang out for the time being, at least until he could speak to Ari again.

He was suddenly hit with a wave of loneliness and anxiousness. He really couldn't wait to see her now.


	8. Chapter 7

The deafening sound of a crash is heard, metal in metal. A screech is heard from something metal grinding against something. There is screaming.

"Help me!" A boy cried desperately, the air was cold, and the boy was trapped within the wreckage of his mother's car.

The people from the other car managed to come out of the wreck injury free. They run to the car and began to try and help the boy.

Death could only watch with solemn eyes, the boy would live, but his mother a elder brother would not. The boy was safely pulled out of the wreckage, he began to shout for them to get his mother and brother. His mother was unconscious, his brother…..well the car was the one to hit on his side. Death looked over to see the eldest brother staring down at his crying brother, he looked stricken as he desperately tried to touch his brother. Death felt a sigh escape himself as he clutched the scythe tighter and began to move.

He watched as the Michael look away from his younger brother, and instantly the boy stopped crying when his eyes landed on his imposing form. He was only 16, and AB student, he had a girlfriend, and a very loving family. He had his problems of course, but who didn't? Death felt empty as he stopped before Michael.

"Am I….dead?" The boy questioned fearfully

Death curtly nodded, he had long since numbed to the horrors and tragedy of his duties as the Grim Reaper.

The boy broke down, he dropped to his knees crying as Death looked over to see the mother walk through the wreckage of the car, looking terrified and confused. She first saw her youngest being cradled by his father, the 7 year old crying for his brother and mother. She ran towards him, only to run straight through them. Her eyes widened in horror and she looked at her hands then looked towards the wreckage as the emergency responders pulled her eldest son from the destroyed car first and she screamed as she collapsed. Michael's head snapped up just as they pulled the second body from the wreckage. He froze then scrambled up and ran towards his mother's collapsed and sobbing form. He fell in next to her and wrapped his arms around her.

Death only watched. His job was cruel, merciless, and full of so much negativity. Sometimes he felt like he was drowning. So much pain, so much sadness. The emotions of this scene was rampant, and this wasn't even the worse he's seen.

He held up his such as the mother and son looked to Death in understanding. They knew what would happen now. Death could hear their clocks ticking their tunes from within his head, they would stop the moment they moved on.

He sliced the air with the scythe and the rift opened, showing the calming and beautiful background of space, hues of purple, red, blue, colors of all sorts from different stars. His scythe disappeared as black wings spread from his back, they seemed to rise from the shadows. He held his hands out, instead of bone they saw flesh.

Only the dead could see the real him. Only he kept his face hidden in the shadows of his cloak, all they seen was his jaw and his hands. His human appearance was to bring the souls of the dead comfort as he guided them to where they were meant to be.

They each took His hands and he gave a saddened and tragic reassuring smile as he turned and guided them to the portal, he let go when they stepped through, and he watched as they joined hands, not once looking back as they disappeared. The rift shut and Death could only numbly watch as the flesh on his hands melted away.

At this moment he was in Many places. Guiding the souls of the dead to the portal. Thousands of people died each day, more than thousands actually, and as always he was always their guide and support.

He wondered what it would be like to go through the portal of the dead, but he was never know. Death cannot die after all.

He castes his eyes over the people gathered around the wreckage before he disappeared, leaving wisps of black in his wake. He didn't know why, but he found himself before the house in which Ari Jay Benson stayed within. She was a puzzle he couldn't quite solve, so many mysteries she carried. He knew her father, he had numerous times managed to avoid him, only because he let him. Motorcycle riders tended to tempt death, but her father would be fine….for now. Ari herself has once missed him, if he recalled it was on a bike ride with her father. A driver had suddenly slammed his breaks, she was lucky that she was paying attention, had she been a second late she would have found herself being guided through the portal.

He was glad now, that she didn't die. He knew nothing of her clock then, and he wondered if her clock was the same then as it was now. He didn't think it was, he was usually pretty good at monitoring the clocks.

The Grim Reaper appeared in her room only to see her laying down on the floor with Jack Frost, both of them asleep. That was certainly surprising, considering she is a teenager. Typically only children believe in spirits like Jack. Perhaps he was the reason her clock was different? That wouldn't make sense though, because then Jack's presence would do the same to the other children's clocks.

Death eyed the soul threads around the two.

It would seem the two will have a pretty strong emotional bond, judging from the vividness of the threads. Soul threads were ties people had with other people and animals, each thread is different. There are threads of friendship, threads of love, threads of hate, and then threads that can last life times and are permanent. It would seem the two of them would have a very deep connection. Whatever it forms into is up to them.

Death checked her clock once more, and it still didn't move. He decided to leave

He'll come back later when she didn't have company.

…

Ari woke up pretty early in the morning, the first thing Ari noticed was the fact her kidneys were killing her. The other thing she noticed was an arm draped around her. She looked over only to see Jack's face in her's. She took a sharp intake of breath only to notice he was asleep.

How the hell did they start facing the same direction?!

She blushed deeply went she felt him pull her closer and snuggle closer to her. Was this heaven? Did she die? Her heart was racing, her face was on fire, and her shoulder buzzed where Jack was resting his head.

Who would've thought he was a cuddler? Actually she could sort of see it now that she thought of his personality, but shit, she never thought he'd be cuddling to her!

She stared at him, a stupid grin on her face. She was the person that claimed to hate contact with other people when in reality she was the bugged softy and wanted to be hugged, especially by an attractive person.

She slowly ease from his grip and then stretched with a yawn. The moment she sat up, blue eyes fluttered open and Jack sat up and looked around drowsily and wiped his eyes with a loud yawn.

"Wow, I slept great." He said looking over at her. He stared at her with a funny expression befor busting out laughing.

"Y-you have frost in your hair!" He gasped out.

She frowned and reach up to feel her hair and the grimaced.

She prayed to God that wasn't drool.

Jack only laughed harder at her face and she gave him a bland look.

"Laugh a little! It's funny, you have to admit!" He snickered.

She felt her eye twitch as well as the corner of her mouth. That cheeky lump of ice, she wanted to just smack the back of his head.

"Yeah well I'm not a morning person, and the only thing on my mind right now is how I'm going to kill you, I mean I don't even have to worry about hiding a body." She drawled and he gave a look of mock offense.

"Is that a reference to no one seeing me?!" He complained.

She snickered and tossed a nearby shirt at him. It smacked him in the face and when it fell he was glaring at her. She gave him a smug look and he began to playfully ignore her. She snickered at him.

"Why the cold shoulder Jack?" She poked him.

She poked his cheek, making him glare at her.

"I think you need to…..cool down."

"Maybe chill a bit….."

His lips twitched at her awful puns.

"If your technically a ghost wouldn't you be called…..Casp-burr?"

Jack laughed finally.

"Those are so awful!"

She smirked.

"Obviously not too horrible. Because you're laughing." She stated with a smug tone causing him to roll his eyes as he stood.

"So tic-tac, you going out to spread winter to the world soon?" She grinned.

He smiled at her.

"Of course dear firecracker." He mused.

She gave him a bland look.

"Good, now get the fuck out of my room." She droned before grinning to show she was joking.

He held his hands up in surrender, the grin never leaving his face. She couldn't help but grin wider. His smile was so so beautiful.

"You don't have to tell me twice biker-chick, don't beat me up." He said while backing towards the window

She laughed and tossed a crumpled up piece of paper at him, she wrote a message to him, which he caught it with a smirk before waving.

"Bye!" He winked.

"Get lost tic-tac." She laughed as he took the paper with him and leapt from the window and then flew into the air.

She shook her head.

She couldn't wait to see him again.


	9. Chapter 8

If there is one thing The Guardians noticed when they all gathered for a meeting was the happy look on the winter spirit's face. His head was in the clouds, and he couldn't stop chuckling to himself and grinning at random times.

North and Sandy exchanged glances and the golden man shrugged with a question mark forming over his head.

"Jack, are you listening?" Tooth questioned with a frown when she noticed the boy wasn't giving much of a reaction to what she was saying.

He blinked and focused on her.

"Oh hey Tooth, I didn't know you were there." He said.

She raised a brow.

"Are you okay?" She questioned curiously.

He nodded.

"I'm fine." He shrugged, being mysterious about why he was so happy.

Bunny had his arms crossed.

"What's with the look Frosty? Normally you never shut up about stuff, why not share with us why you're so…." The pooka trailed off trying to find the word.

"Giddy." Tooth finished.

Jack shrugged.

"Normally you guys don't pay much attention anyhow. So anyways if that's all for this meeting I got places to be." He said and left without another word.

They looked at each other in confusion and guilt.

"I will admit I haven't been paying much attention to the boy." North said in a bit of shame.

Sandy made some gestures saying he was guilty as well. Tooth looked down at the ground as baby tooth flew around her chirping. Bunny was the only one that didn't look guilty.

"Well he hasn't even tried talking to me." He shrugged.

…..

Ari was not a happy camper, not, at, all. It was evident on her expression. She was sporting a sore ass and a broken ego. Cupcake and her friends were giggling among each other as she glared at them.

"Oh har har you brats, it wouldn't be so funny if this happened to you." She huffed making them giggle harder.

"So you finally broke the ice?" A voice mused.

She glared at the source.

"Go suck an ice sickle tic-tac!" She snapped causing Jack to laugh as the kids looked at them with gaping eyes and slack jaws.

They looked over at them then grinned.

"Jack! She can see you!" Jamie finally exclaimed loudly as he ran closer.

Jack held a hand out to Ari and she took it and he pulled her to her feet. He grinned at Jamie.

"Isn't it cool?" Jack said as Jamie and the other kids whooped and cheered for Jack. The winter spirit laughed and then focused his attention to Ari.

"How much trouble did you get into today?" Jack mused.

"Define trouble." She drawled as Cupcake giggled.

Jack raised a brow as all the children giggled.

" Are you being a bad influence on the kids firecracker?" Jack mused as Ari snorted.

"I am no such thing." She denied crossing her arms. Jack looked to Jamie and he held his hands to his mouth and shook his head. He then looked to Cupcake and she only grinned and spoke.

"She cussed out a older kid for almost running us over in his car." She grinned and Jack raised a brow and tsked at Ari in mock disappointment.

"Say another word and I'll stab you with an ice sickle." She growled causing him to laugh.

She leaned on him.

"Dude. My bum is so sore now." She muttered as Jack chuckled and pulled a leaf from her hair.

"So where are you all off to?" Jack questioned as Ari dusted her butt off and pushed off of him.

"Where do you think?" She drawled.

He snorts at her tone and flicked her nose. He could only smile at her look of ire, finding her attitude funny. He was glad to be back with her, being stuck in a meeting all day was not what he would consider fun, especially with no preparation for it considering it was a surprise meeting. He ignored the strong urge to hug her, his chest feeling warm.

He forced himself to look away from her.

"The park?" He questioned with a knowing tone.

The kids nodded as Ari crossed her arms.

"Duh, these kids practically live there." She snorted

Jack chuckled as he followed the group, following behind Ari. He grinned as he kicked snow at he feet.

"I am really getting sick of your shit Tic-tac, I'm about to drop kick you to Antartica." She hissed when some of the snow got in her boots.

"Is that so?" He mused

She leaned down to get the snow out of her boot, and Jack snickered before yelping when something was shoved into his face, knocking him down into the snow. Ari stood over him with a smug look.

"Falling for me Jack?" She teased, he wiped the snow from his face.

He glared at her playfully and threw a snow ball in her face, of course he added a bit of magic to it. Instantly her eyes sparkled and she giggled, his heart practically stopped at the sound. She grabbed up some snow and packed it into a ball and chunked it at him.

That started the war.

As usual Jack found himself in a snow ball fight with the kids, Ari the newest one to their battle, was against him. It was he, Jamie, Monty, and Caleb versus Ari, Cupcake, Pippa, and Claude. Jack found himself mostly facing of with Ari, and she was not going easy.

"You fight dirty Firecracker!" Jack called after being tripped and pelted with snow.

"There's no such thing as fighting dirty in war Tic-tac!" She laughed as she hid behind a tree.

The others were too busy fighting among themselves to really pay attention to Ari and Jack singling each other out.

"You were my friend!" Jack called out dramatically with a betrayed tone.

She snickered, he could see her packing more snow balls together.

"Yeah well you're a loser!" She snorted before screeching when Jack knocked he snow from the tree onto her.

"Jackass!" She snapped as she sat on the ground. He laughed as he walked closer to her, he came to a stop to stare down at her.

"Who's the loser now?" He cooed, amused at the unamused look in her face.

She grabbed his leg and pulled it out from under him. He shouted in surprise and fell back, Ari then stuffed snow In his face.

"Still you." She drawled and he grumbled and just laid back into the snow, staring up at her with a pouty look.

"Don't give me that look tic-tac." She droned looking away, trying to avoid the look he was giving her.

"Ari!" He whined, pouting even more when she rolled her eyes.

She stuffed snow into his face again and he glared at the smug look on her face. He flicked snow at her face, which soon escalated to them swatting snow back and forth at each other. After a few moments they settled down and just laid in the snow, laughing and chuckling as the kids did the same over where they're at.

Ari looked over at Jack, snow sticking into her hair, he reached over and got it out, an impulse he couldn't ignore. She gave him a curious look as he got it out and then pulled away.

"You ah, had snow in your hair." He explained awkwardly, feeling his chest and cheeks warm up, something he found very weird still.

She nodded with a grin and looked up at the sky. Her smile fell slightly.

"I'm going home the day after Christmas." She murmured.

He felt disappointment form.

"So that gives us almost 3 weeks." He said optimistically.

She looked over at him, a look on her face that showed a little sadness.

"I don't want to leave." She sighed, anxiety in her tone.

He nodded with a solemn look

"You've become a very dear friend to me in the short time we've known each other Jack, I don't want to lose that. I'll be a loner again once I go home, and I hate it." She frowned

Jack sat up to properly look at her, he gave her a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry about it firecracker, I'll visit you, no matter what season it is." He promised and she smiled at him and stood up. He followed her lead only to be taken by surprise when he was suddenly wrapped in a hug.

"Thank you, so much." Her tone was grateful and warm. He felt an overwhelming warmth spread through his chest and he hugged her tighter. Finally they pulled away and green eyes met blue. Ari smiled at him widely and then ruffled his hair.

Jack found himself spending the rest of the day with Ari and the kids, though most of his attention was on his new friend. The kids loved Ari, they all looked at her with the same admiration as they did him. She was funny and sarcastic, and a bit awkward at times, but the kids flocked to her despite it all. They especially found the fact she rode motorcycles really cool.

"But aren't motorcycles for boys?" One of the kids asked and Ari only grinned.

"Bikes are for anyone who can safely ride them. Besides I don't listen to gender labels, it takes the fun out of everything. I mean why let people tell you what you can and can't like just because you're a boy or girl?" She winked at them and they all nodded in agreement with her. Cupcake was grinning happily at her cousin, if there was anyone that admired Ari more, it was Cupcake. It seemed the teenager brought a new side to the girl.

"I want a motorcycle!" Claude shouted and Ari laughed.

" Just remember while they are fun, they can be very dangerous. Maybe when it warms up I'll bring my bike down and let you ride with me." She grinned and immediately all the kids began to cheer for her to take them as well.

When everyone parted ways, Ari stretched and leaned against a wall. Jack stood at her side watching her with amusement.

"I have to say you gave me a run for my money on having the kids' attention. They were so enthralled with you." He grinned as Cupcake disappeared into her house.

"Cause Im cool." She bragged teasingly as she looked over at him.

He rolled his eyes.

"Uh-huh, sure you are." He droned, a teasing look on his face.

"Let's go do something." Ari suddenly suggested looking over at him.

He raised a brow.

"Anything specific you have in mind?" He questioned.

She had a look of thought as she crossed her arms.

"I dunno, let's go flying again though, that was pretty sweet." She grinned pulling her jacket closer to her as she adjusted her gloves then her beanie.

He gave her a grin.

"Now?" He mused and she gave a thumbs up.

He lowered a bit to the ground after turning his back to her. Jack watched her grin and get on his back and wrap her legs and arms around him. .

"Wind, take us up!" Jack called and they were launched into the air. A small squeal of excitement escaping Ari causing him to laugh as he firmly held her legs.

Wind took them high into the air, and Ari was whooping in excitement as she clung to Jack's back. Jack wondered where Wind would take them, and looked around below them.

"So when are we going to the North Pole?" She questioned.

Jack thought it over.

"It would probably be better if we waited for him at your house on Christmas. If we rode the wind to North's there's a chance you might freeze and get hypothermia." He said, and she nodded in understanding.

"Cool, that's fine with me." She grinned as she laid her head on his shoulder, once again his chest warmed as well as his cheeks.

"Hey Tic-tac, you're like 1000 years old, ever fall in love?" Ari questioned and he scowled at being called 1000 years old.

"I'm 300 thank you, and no I haven't fallen I love." He drawled.

She looked at him in surprise.

"Not at all? Not even a crush on someone?" She questioned

He shook his head.

"Haaaaaave you ever…..?" She trailed off.

He glanced back at her.

"Have I what?" He questioned.

She stifled a snicker.

"Get a little 'ice?'….." There was a long pause, as Jack processed what she said.

"Gah! What the heck Ari! No, I haven't gotten and 'ice' why would you ask that?!" He freaked, causing Ari to cackle.

"I'm just wondering, so that means you're a 300 year old virgin! Hahahaha!" She continued to cackle.

Jack felt his cheeks warm as a deadpanned look formed on his face and he dropped her. Briefly she squealed before continuing to laugh, hysterically at that.

Jack glared down at her as wind whipped around him in a manner that suggested it was laughing as well.

"Oh, you think that's funny?" He huffed as he quickly went and caught Ari.

He held her in his arms bridal style, and she giggled as she stared at his face. He gave her an unamused look, and she pinched his cheeks and forced him to smile. He couldn't help but smile anyhow, so she dropped her hands away from his face and smiled at him. He shook his head and wind began to move them again.

Ari yawned and stretched out in his arms.

"Dude, you are very comfy." She drawled as she laid her head against his chest.

"I'm taking a nap." She yawned again.

He gave her a look.

"You were the one that wanted to fly, why are you going to sleep?" He huffed.

She patted his cheek.

"Because I can." And with that she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

He rolled his eyes.

"Lazy."

Jack decided to take a look at the note she gave him as he left that morning. Carefully he reached into his jacket and pulled open the crumpled up paper only for another note in the middle of it. He made a look of confusion and opened it only to find another piece of paper, then another, and another till finally he found a tiny piece of paper that was neatly folded, he opened it and read what it said.

Loser.

He laughed and stuffed the paper in his pocket with a head shake of amusement. She definitely was something else.


	10. ON HOLD! TT

So I lost my i pad, which had EVERYTHING I've written about Not All it Seems. I'm pretty mad about it, especially since I'm moving out of my dad's house into my own apartment which is in Florida (he lives in Oklahoma)

I had SOOOO much written for this story i was practically almost done. So until I'm able to get my i pad this story will be on hold, sadly. This was probably the only story I've ever written ahead before i posted it, and i lost the bloody freaking I pad! I HAVE SUCH GOOD LUCK GUYS!


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